


Determination Goes a Long Way

by pugsalot



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-04 20:13:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17311112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pugsalot/pseuds/pugsalot
Summary: Frisk refuses to attack Flowey in their fight, Flowey is completely freaked out by the child. Mild Flowisk content!





	1. From the Top

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if I want to end it here, or continue this... Depends on my motivation really.  
> Hope you enjoyed this regardless!

The child stood before the monstrosity that once cute (if you could call a murderous psychotic power hungry child... well, _that_ ) flower had turned into.  
They were used to his appearance by now, a grotesque fleshy face, connected to a screen with tubes and vines everywhere, crazed eyes staring at them with nothing but power hungry malice.

"I will tear you limb to limb, crush you until you're nothing but dust!" the booming voice came out of the giddy smile of the abomination. "Ready? Here we go again!"

The human sighed, preparing to dodge yet another chaotic attack Flowey would send their way. They gave him a pleading look, never touching the "Act" button once. They were determined to finish this peacefully, even though mercy seemed like it wasn't an option.

"Please," they said in a small, frail voice. Before they managed to continue their sentence, a few 'friendliness pellets' hit them harshly. They froze in place, shocks running through their body from the pure pain. Flowey looked at them with amusement, putting both cactus paws to his cheeks.

"Oopsie! Did I interrupt you? Oh golly, I sure am sorry! I mean, it's not like we're in the _middle of a friggin' fight!_ "

He reloaded the save mere seconds before the impact, just enough time for Frisk to jump to the side and dodge the attack. Their eyes were focused on Flowey's face. They were scared, that's for sure, but they were determined there's some good in there somewhere.  
They searched Flowey's expression for something, anything while bombs fell all around them, making a cacophony of loud explosions.  
For some reason, the flower hadn't hit them once-- well, guess not.

Flowey let out a manic laugh, a flash of unbearable pain hitting the human. They clenched their tiny fists, looking down. A vine made its way right across their stomach and out their back. They felt like they were about to faint, just waiting for Flowey to reload.

But he didn't.

Flowey watched them curiously, waiting for their reaction. His smile never leaving his face, he squinted his eyes with amusement.  
Frisk shivered, feeling their legs bucking beneath them. They collected all their determination, and took a step towards Flowey.

"...What are you doing?" his expression shifted from amusement to confusion. "You're dying, idiot. Show me how much you suffer so I can reload!"

Frisk shook their head, just walking towards the demigod, letting the vine pierce them further.

"G--get away from me!" he was clearly freaked out. "Aren't you in immense pain?! Stop it! Stop!"

Frisk finally reached the flower, and collapsed on his arm, hugging (or clinging?) tight. Flowey stared at Frisk, furrowing his brows. He watched the human bleed out, so frail and fragile. He probably pierced some important organ or another but Frisk is still alive, if barely. A monster would've died on impact! Humans sure are strong...

Frisk turned their head and smiled patiently at Flowey. Flowey sorta didn't want to reload at all, this was nice?? Somehow???? No, it can't be nice you idiot, you can't feel love or affection or friendship. You're only good for destroying, killing, maiming. You--

"Please, Flowey." Frisk whispered.

Flowey reloaded, retracting the vine just before impact. He looked at Frisk awkwardly. Frisk watched carefully, not making any move.

Flowey thought for a bit. "I could use this." He thought. "This is different. Maybe... I could learn about them more. See how far I can push them."

It felt like forever before he spoke.

"I uh, guess we could, maybe, be friends?" Flowey lingered on 'friends' for a bit, drawing out the word with a higher squeaky pitch. "If you want? I mean, killing you IS pretty fun. And you ARE a complete and utter sicko, you know that, right?"

Frisk just laughed.

"Hmph. This is your chance to end things peacefully and all you do is laugh. Idiot. I can kill you again if I wanted." He crossed his arms, looking to the side a little.

"I know." Frisk said, giving a small smile.

"...So?" Flowey peeked at Frisk, an annoyed yet embarrassed expression on his face.

"Take us back to the underground. We'll figure out how to break the barrier together."


	2. And Back They Go!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Flowey return to the underground, but how would they convince Asgore to give up the souls?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll give making this into a full story a shot! Hope you enjoy the upcoming fluff!

Rewinding time isn't something Flowey wasn't familiar with. In fact, it was one of the only comforting sensations the flower could experience. There was a certain... power rush to it.  
He felt in total control, even for just a mere moment.  
That in mind, both good and bad memories were tied to this sensation.  
All the timelines he spent endlessly searching for comfort and love, trying to befriend every single monster just so he'd find that calm inside of him. Nothing worked, of course.  
Then came the more... Violent ones.  
He remembers how it all started accidentally, monsters really ARE that fragile. Only the smallest bit of malice, and they're taken down in an instant. That was the second comforting sensation he could feel; coldblooded amusement.

Flowey blinked into existence, he was his flower self again. He furrowed his brows, feeling around his stem with his leaves. There was this indescribable sensation around him, like some sort of... Power is closing in on him.  
He looked up and saw the souls floating around and slowly drifting towards him. "Ah." He peered at Frisk, which was watching him silently. He wondered what is going through their mind.

The world turned black.

The world disappeared in a blink.

The world returned, but this time, Flowey wasn't a small flower anymore.

He floated in place, his ruby eyes trained on Frisk. All around them was darkness, but the hum of the barrier carried in the background. Frisk took a step towards the demigod, and put a hand on one his claws.

"Well, uh. We're here. What's your plan? I've only got six souls, I need one more." Flowey said with a slight annoyance to his tone.

"I don't have one." Frisk returned simply. Flowey was visibly dumbfounded.

"What do you MEAN you don't have one?! You went through all of THIS but didn't plan any further?!"

Frisk shrugged. "I didn't think I'd get this far." Was their answer.

Flowey groaned, squinting at them with a scowl. "Well, you did. So you better think up a solution before _I_ do."

Frisk's expression changed, as if something dawned on them. "Asgore..." they whispered. Flowey gave an over-dramatic sigh.

"Dead, yeah yeah, big whoop. You wanted me to break the barrier, right? Well, I never managed to get past that moron. A dead Asgore is an essential part of reaching the surface as far as I know."

Frisk got that look on their face, Flowey knew that look very well. It was the look they gave him when he was THIS close to killing them when the two met. It was the look they gave when they 'fought' Toriel. Raw, unadulterated determination.

"Take us back." They finally said. "Before you killed him, when he was ready to become a family. I'll convince him." Flowey wasn't so sure about this, tilting his head slightly and crossing his arms.

"Are you SURE about that?" He asked.

"Absolutely."

"Super DUPER sure?"

Frisk sighed. "Yes, Flowey. I'm super duper sure about this."

"Okay, see you on the other side."

And with that, Flowey reloaded just a bit further back. He really didn't want to. He would lose his powers over this world, but if everything goes according to Frisk's plan, he should regain control with no trouble.  
Once again, he felt the power rush wash over him. He took a breath, closing his eyes. He knew what he was going to see, and it was gonna make him angry once again.  
Why would Asgore accept ANOTHER child as his own? He's still alive, dangit. Why would the world be so cruel? How could his own DAD forget about him?! It's true, he tried reconnecting with him in previous timelines, but it never succeeded. He just couldn't care about Mr. Dad Guy. A pity, really. But not a huge loss.

"We could be a family..." Asgore's low voice snapped Flowey out of his thought stream, making him grit his teeth. The bullets were already out and ready, and he had to admit, it was tempting.  
But he dissipated them into a poof of spent magic, hunkering down and waiting for Asgore to finish his heartfelt speech. He wished it'd make him feel anything other than jealousy and disgust.  
Frisk took a step towards the kneeling king, and wrapped their little arms around him. Asgore sobbed, wrapping his arms around the tiny child. "Human, I couldn't be happier." He said, teary eyed. Frisk, sunk themself into the hug, before breaking it and looking up at the boss monster.  
"Here," they took out a cinnamon and butterscotch pie slice. "You look beat up, you should eat."  
"Thank you, human. But where did you get this pie?" he carefully took the slice with shaky hands, his large maw eating it in two bites. "It tastes just like home."  
Frisk just smiled, then turned to Flowey and beckoned him to come.

Asgore followed Frisk's line of sight, and watched the flower make his way towards the two. "My, my. Who is this?" He turned back to Frisk "One of your friends you gained along the way?"  
Frisk nodded, their expression changing to the same one they wore just before Flowey reloaded. Determined, they said: "He can break the barrier for us, he's our friend and ally, please, Asgore... Let him have the souls. I know he's trustworthy, please believe me."  
Flowey froze in place, putting on his neutral smile. Asgore stared between the two, before standing up, lowering his head so a shadow falls over his eyes.  
"I'm afraid I can't do that, human." He shook his head slowly. "I've only got six."  
"Asgore, he's not a normal monster. He's capable of absorbing more than human souls." They took a breath, bracing themselves. "He's neither a monster nor a human, he can absorb both human and monster souls. We just need to figure out how to get a strong enough monster soul without hurting the monster..." They sounded a little unsure, but straightened their back and looked into Asgore's shadowed eyes. "We will figure it out, together. Together, we will break free and reach the surface. He's our hope for the future, please understand!"  
"Neither human, nor monster..? You don't mean..." Asgore lifted his head to look at Flowey. It made the flower deeply uncomfortable.

The king knelt before Flowey, putting his arm out for the child to climb on. Flowey, on the other hand, had other plans and instead eagerly shook Asgore's hand with a vine. "Nice too meet you, Asgore!" He put a fake smile, and beamed. "I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower! It's an honor to finally see the king up close and personal!"  
"Ah, yes. Of course. It's a pleasure to meet you, Flowey." He answered awkwardly, giving a firm shake to the vine. "May I...?" He asked while gently uprooting the flower and picking him up.  
"Gee, I guess you may!" Flowey giggled, adjusting his roots so he's more comfortable, or, well, as comfortable as he could be in this situation.  
"I apologize if this question is rude, but do you, perhaps, know someone called 'Alphys'?" Asgore asked point blank. Flowey began thinking of answers, quickly calculating every possible reaction the king would have to each one.  
"Yes, yes I do! She's the one who CREATED me after all, hee hee hee!" Flowey had hoped that, since Asgore knew about this test's purpose, it'd buy him some more credibility over the whole soul situation.

Asgore gently put Flowey back on the rich soil of his garden, never taking his eyes off of him.  
"You disappeared. We couldn't find you, the guard searched for weeks."  
"Yup!" Flowey answered cheerfully.  
"Where did you go? What did you do? You were never supposed to be sentient. How? Why?" The tone of the king was hushed and gentle. It pissed Flowey off.  
"Golly, this is getting rather personal isn't it? I did what I did, I went where I went. I don't know how I got my sentience," he lied, "but I sure am glad I'm alive!"

Frisk tapped their leg on the ground, fidgeting with his hands. They were waiting for Asgore's answer, and had not expected the king to start questioning his brand new friend.  
"Will you give him the souls?" They began feeling nervous. What if Flowey was right? What if it really IS impossible to get the souls without killing... No, there has to be another way!  
"I sincerely apologize, but I can't simply give up on something so vital to my kingdom's future. How can I know I can trust... Flowey?" He was right, of course. The king hadn't even gotten to know Flowey, and even if he did, there's no guarantee he'd trust him. In fact, there's a bigger chance he'd be wary of Flowey instead.

"Hmm... This is quite the pickle!" Flowey chimed in. "What about this, I promise you that as soon as I get all the souls needed, I'll break the barrier, and then return them to you! For safekeeping, of course. Wouldn't want them to get to the wrong hands!"  
Asgore looked a little tired, sighing. "I'm afraid this won't do. I'm not sure what kind of powers six souls would give to a being such as you. When we get a seventh soul, I will absorb them and free everyone."  
"But, but this is my purpose!" Flowey exclaimed. "What am I supposed to do if I can't fulfill what I'm meant for?!"  
"Yeah!" Frisk joined. "Please, Asgore! Please? He'll be good, I know he will!"

" **Enough!** " Boomed the boss monster, his voice echoing in the throne room. "I won't give you the souls, end of the question. Now, would you like to join me for tea?"  
The two looked at each other, Flowey dropping his cheerful act and giving Frisk an "I told you so" look. Frisk looked back at Asgore, and nodded politely. "We'd love to."

As Asgore headed over to start boiling some water, the pair were left alone, out of earshot.

* * *

"I told you so!" Flowey said in a hushed tone with a mix of smugness and annoyance. "He would never give up on those dang souls!"  
"What if we steal them when he doesn't notice?" Frisk whispered.  
"Tried that before, only he can take those containers out." He said flatly.  
"Darn."

The sweet scent of golden flower tea floated in the air. In the distance, the king's humming could be heard.  
"...Flowey."  
"Yes, Frisk?"  
"If you drink golden flower tea, is that considered cannibalism?"  
Flowey stared blankly at the human for a few moments, before bursting into laughter. "You're sick!" He said between giggles. "What kind of deranged mind comes up with this stuff?"  
Frisk gave Flowey a mischievous smile, and shrugged.

After a few moments longer, the king returned with three cups of tea in his hands. They seemed so small compared to the king's gigantic paws. The scent was overwhelmingly sweet and delicate.  
"Here we are." He sat the teacups on a table carefully, then sat down on a chair next to it.  
Frisk picked up Flowey without a second thought and headed over, setting his friend on the furthest chair, and sat down in the middle. They had time to plan out how this will work. There's no rush, now that they're in absolutely no danger.

"Sssssso." Flowey broke the silence. "King of all monsters, huh? Must be tough ruling over such a delicate bunch of people!" He took a sip from his tea, too hot. He decided on not burning his tongue, so he put the teacup back and waited.  
"Ah, don't worry. I have my wonderful partners to help me handle all that." Asgore replied.  
"I'm not worried, you moron." Flowey thought.  
"Oh, really? That's wonderful! It's always better when you know someone's got your back!" He said instead.  
"Hm-hm." Was all Asgore answered.

After a long awkwardly silent moment, only broken by the sound of tea sips, Asgore decided to speak up.

"You said you will look for a way to extract a monster soul without hurting the monster. I don't think that is possible. The moment a monster's soul comes out, the monster dusts."  
"Not necessarily." Flowey wore a serious expression on his face. "Boss monster souls are different. They stay intact outside of the monster's body for longer, and the body itself remains even after the soul is out. Only if it shatters will the boss monster turn to dust." He tapped a vine on the side of the teacup. It was a beautiful teacup, white ceramic with small dainty golden floral accents. He sighed. "You could consider giving me your soul, along with the other six you've got. That way I'll have enough soul power to--"  
"Absolutely not." Asgore cut Flowey short. "There's not enough information about such a thing, and I'm not certain you know what you speak of."  
Flowey clenched his vines under the table. This man was getting on his nerves.  
"Fine. Frisk can give me theirs then. A human body stays still even after death, and the soul stays intact for longer. I'm sure if all of us team up; you bringing the souls to me, Frisk letting me take theirs, and me breaking the barrier... We could do it. It's possible. It's just a matter of your choice, pal."  
Frisk nodded eagerly.  
Asgore looked between the two. "...Such a funny pair. If you are sure this will work..."  
"I assure you, it'll work 100%." Flowey said.  
"Then yes. Let's finish our tea, and bring this plan to fruition."

 


	3. Flowey Breaks the Barrier!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title suggests, Flowey does the thing. The breaky freeing thing.

"I don't like this..." Asgore said as he watched the flower open up the teal soul's container. "Maybe we should just wait until another human falls, that way we will be certain no one gets hurt."  
Flowey looked up. He was getting tired of acting nice. "No one important, you mean. Since you kinda need to kill that new human if you want to KEEP their soul."  
Frisk disapproved, and gave a stern look to Flowey, which returned a sweet innocent smile.  
"Anyway, we came this far, why stop?" The cyan soul began circling around him as he went to open the purple soul's container.  
"Because..." Asgore was searching for a reason. "Because this is a lousy idea." Flowey gave a deep and long winded sigh, then looked at Asgore as if he were looking at a little dumb child.  
"If you don't give me a better reason, pronto, I'm not stopping." He opened the green soul's container next. Three down, three to go.  
"Here, let me help you!" Frisk went and reached for a container, which only gotten their hand slapped by a vine and a furious Flowey hissing at them. "Go away! I can do this on my own!"  
Flowey quickly popped open the rest of the containers, letting the souls drift towards him. He looked back at Frisk and Asgore.  
"Stop, now. Stop, please!" Asgore called as the souls closed in on Flowey. Flowey kept a straight face, until the very end when the flash happened.

The world went dark.

The world blinked out of existence.

The world returned, and Flowey wasn't a flower anymore.

Asgore gawked at the monstrosity that floated before him. His mind racing but nothing coming out. His eyes trailed over every gruesome detail, the never ending pumping machinery, the two drool-dripping maws with crooked teeth, the sharp deep red claws, the intense glow of the screen, and the eyes... Eyes everywhere.  
Flowey stretched, groaning a little. "Ahh... It's good to be back!" He gave a wide smile, and giggled once he noticed Asgore's expression of pure horror.  
"Welcome back, Flowey!" Frisk ran and hugged the demigod.  
"Yeah, uh, hi? Personal space please?" He snickered, picking up the human and looking at them closely.  
"Now I only lack one soul, and I have it riiiiiight here in my hand. What do you say, Asgore? Who'll do the honors?"  
"What...?" Was all Asgore could utter.  
"Very well! I'll do it in that case!" Flowey answered cheerfully, his loud voice booming in the space they were in. "Between you and me," the monstrosity leaned towards Frisk and whispered, "I think Asgore is a little dumbfounded, I wonder why!"  
Frisk nodded seriously, then sat down in Flowey's palm and smiled. Flowey seemed a little uncomfortable.  
"...Stop looking at me like that."  
"Hm?" Frisk tilted their head.  
"Stop looking at me as if I'm some sort of a cute puppy or a pretty little butterfly. I can kill you, you know."  
"You already said that!" Frisk smiled cheekily, and gave a small giggle. "You won't though, I know you won't. You promised."  
"When did I ever promise I won't kill you?!" He cringed when he felt a tug on his other cactus paw, and looked down at Asgore, who was examining him closely.  
"And what do you think YOU are doing?" He snapped at Asgore.

The king looked up at Flowey's monitor, and took a heavy breath. "You must be in a lot of pain. Not quite a god, yet with power beyond any creature would dream of." He continued. "There is no reason to worry, your suffering will soon end. Come now, human. Let's finish this, together, as we agreed to."  
"That's where you're wrong, buddy." Flowey's entire body contorted as he leaned down mere inches from Asgore's face. "I'm in absolutely NO pain whatsoever! In fact, this is really, REALLY fun! But!" He turned to look at Frisk, still seated in his paw. His voice softened. "I need one more to actually get us out of this hole."  
"Yes." Asgore agreed. Frisk gave an approving nod as well.

* * *

This was familiar to Frisk. A black screen, a white box, an enemy in front of them. What wasn't familiar was how gentle Flowey was with them.  
Their soul was out, and they moved it in small circles, just waiting for Flowey to break through the box.  
He was trying to chip away the box with attacks, but they only went past it. He paused and thought about another solution.  
Flowey sighed, reaching an arm over the box and into it, then picking Frisk's soul up into their hand. He held them like that for a bit, just watching the red glow. He looked like he was deep in thought.  
"Okay, I got you. This may feel really weird, I don't know. I never had a soul, so."  
Flowey quit the fight, clenching his fist around Frisk's soul. The soul immediately tried to get sent back into Frisk's body, the pain was indescribable.  
Their whole body felt like it was both on fire, freezing, and being electrocuted at the same time. Frisk clenched their teeth and cringed.  
"Oh whoops, sorry! I didn't think you'd be in pain!" Flowey said with a sadistic edge to his tone. "Let's just get this over with."

The world disappeared beneath Frisk's feet, and they appeared in what seemed to be a void. They looked around them, and all they could see was darkness.

Frisk's body fell limp to the ground with a thud. Asgore quickly ran towards it and picked it up carefully. He looked back at Flowey with pleading eyes.  
"Fine, fine, stop looking at me like that. It's annoying." Flowey groaned. He turned to the barrier, reaching a hand out... And...

* * *

It was a nice day out in Ebbot town. People were chatting in cafes, cars were driving in the streets, birds were chirping cheerfully... No one was aware of the sudden change the world would go through in mere moments.  
There was a loud cracking sound, almost like thunder. Some people looked up to see light coming out of the top of the big mountain beside their quaint city. Most people were minding their own business though.

Flowey took a breath, and opened his eyes. What he saw was incredible, he stood there, blocking the way out, just looking. Tears began forming in his eyes, tears he didn't understand.  
The warm sun and fresh air were absolutely mind boggling to him, it has been far too long since he could experience this.

Asgore stood next to Flowey, a hand covering his mouth. His eyes were wide open, and a gigantic smile was forming on his lips.  
"I must call for everyone!" The king said.  
"Wait," Flowey stopped Asgore in his tracks. "Give us a moment, I need to bring Frisk back into their body."  
Asgore nodded and handed the body to Omega Flowey, then took a few steps back.

Flowey closed his eyes. Absorbing a soul was far easier than un-absorbing it. He searched for Frisk, calling out for them in his mind.

...

And here they came. A red, bright light shined in his mind's eyes. He guided them outside, back to their body, back to life.  
Flowey's fleshy head began coughing. It was a terrifying sound.  
He opened his eyes and cocked a brow. "What the hell?"  
Frisk's soul plopped from the creature's maws. Well, that was... Weird. Flowey's expression was unreadable. He just picked Frisk's soul up, rubbed it on his side a little, then pushed it against their body's chest.

Frisk woke up with a start, gasping. They looked around, how long were they out? Did Flowey do it? Was it successful? They looked up and all they could see was a teary eyed, unreadable-expressioned Flowey.  
"Did you do it?" They asked weakly.  
"Yes, Frisk, I did it. The barrier is down, we're all free."  
Frisk's expression of concern immediately turned into one of extreme excitement.  
"We're free?! We're free!!!" They stood up, quickly falling down and laughing.  
"Whoa there buddy, slow down! You just got undead'd!" Flowey laughed, wiping his eyes with his free hand.

"Human?" A familiar voice broke between the two, and they looked at the source. Undyne stood at the entrance, hands on her knees, panting as if she was running all the way here. "The king sent out a message, is the barrier really...?"  
"See for yourself." Flowey stepped aside, showing the beautiful sunset beyond the mountain's exit. Undyne gasped, jumping back to her feet and practically running to look at the sun.  
"So it's true... I had to come see it for myself, I couldn't believe it! Ha ha ha, squirt, you have no idea how much we owe you!"  
"Flowey did most of the work though." Frisk said quietly.  
"Who's Flowey?" Undyne asked, but was interrupted by yet another voice. "H--human?"  
"Ugh... Howdy, Alphys." Flowey replied with a wave. She squeaked and hid behind Undyne.  
"HUMAN!" "heya." The skelebros came in, Sans walking in lazily, hands in his hoodie's pockets, while Papyrus ran excitedly towards the group that was forming.  
"AND GIGANTIC MONSTER I'VE NEVER MET!"  
"It's Flowey!"  
"WOWIE! YOU MUST BE RELATED TO FLOWERY!"  
"Hee hee hee, you're so fun Papyrus." Flowey had to admit, the skeleton still had his charm.

Slowly more and more monsters began coming into the room, everyone gawking at the beautiful outside.  
Asgore came in, making his way to where the barrier formerly was. He cleared his throat, and spread his arms to his sides.  
"Everyone." His booming voice filled the space, drawing everyone's attention. "Today is a happy day. A day where we all made history. Today, after XXXX years, the barrier was taken down."  
There was applause. Some monsters even squacked or roared.  
"And it is all thanks to these two lovely children, Flowey and Frisk."  
Flowey straightened his back and gave a big bright beam, Frisk was kinda woozy so they smiled and waved instead. The applause was equally as enthusiastic this time.  
"Now, everyone. Let us stay hopeful for a better tomorrow. We will go out, and we will finally find our place in the surface world!"  
There were some words called out, like: "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ASGORE!!!!!" or: "HURRAY! HURRAY!" or also: "WOOHOO!" and: "LIKE, NO WAY!" with barks mixed in.

* * *

And so, the monsters went on to live their lives on the surface.  
There were troublesome times, but there were also good times to be had.  
But all in all, there was no doubt that having monsterkind be free was a much better condition for them.

 

 


	4. Ebbot Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After breaking the barrier, the monsters and Frisk reach the quiet town of Ebbot.  
> What awaits them there? Do they get into trouble? How do the humans react to the news?

"Wooooooow..." Flowey couldn't help but stare at the beautiful reds and pinks of the sunset. His eyes open wide in wonder. It was a good reminder that the flower is still a child at heart.  
"How come you never told me you get to see this every. single. day?!" Flowey turned to Frisk with mock anger, but his second face betrayed his mischievousness with a silly smile. Frisk shrugged and smiled back at him.

"What now?" asked Alphys. "I-- I mean, not that there's any pressure or anything but well, you see, we-- we did get our freedom and..." her voice trailed off.  
"Shut up Alphys." Thought the flower.  
"Well gosh, I don't know! We probably need to first make sure the humans don't kill us on sight!" He said instead.  
"HA!" Came a laugh coupled with a knee slap. "As if they'd stand a chance against US! Don't worry, we'll be just fine. Just gotta send the twerp first so they see we come with the power of friendship!" Undyne chimed in.  
"Y--yeah! And Anime!" Alphys added.  
"Heck yeah!! And anime!!" Undyne cheered.

"Now, now." Asgore interrupted their friendship-anime-induced celebration. "I'm sure there will be no need to put Frisk in such a situation. They are just a child, after all. Let's leave the hard work to us. I'm sure we are fully capable of handling it."  
Frisk looked a little relieved, and fidgeted with their hands. "I can still help, though. I can show you around the town, and let you meet people, help the kids and adults get used to you guys."  
Asgore put a large hand on their shoulder, kneeling beside them. "You have gone far and beyond with your help. Your assistance gave us all our freedom. There really is no need for much more. Please, just your friendship towards monsterkind is enough."  
"But!" Frisk blurted out in a high pitch squeak. They didn't like this. When there's a possible problem, one that there's a chance their help can resolve it, they HAVE to try. Even if Asgore isn't allowing them to, they'll figure out a way.

"My child!" Came a familiar voice out of the mountain's exit. Flowey cringed at the sound of the voice, stopping himself nearly too late before he'd answer to her.  
"Mom!" Frisk chirped, running from under Asgore's heavy hand and hugging tight the former queen.  
"THERE'S TWO????" Papyrus looked bamboozled. Well, every monster in the vicinity looked on a scale between shocked to confused, since no one saw Toriel in XXXX years.  
"Oh, my child, you have no idea how worried I was about you... And look at that, look at how many friends you have made! I should not have been so scared for you." She said with a sad smile. Frisk looked up and beamed at her full force, childish cheeks wrinkling their already heavy squinting eyes.  
"Tori!" Asgore stood up, starting to walk towards her. She put out a hand and looked at him with disgust.  
"Don't you dare call me that ever again." She said in a commanding tone. Asgore sank a little, and nodded.

"They're still not getting along..." Flowey thought to himself. "After all this time, mommy and daddy are still fighting, because of me." He wished that'd give him a pang of guilt, made him sad, something, anything... But it was just a matter of fact type of thought.  
"If Chara were still here, things would've been better." He said to himself in a quiet tone, and turned away from the scene. It was starting to make his mind wander, and he didn't like it. He didn't want to think about Chara and mom and dad and how his family was broken all because of HIS fault it's HIS fault for betraying Chara it's HIS fault for making mom and dad hate each other it's all his fault it's--  
Flowey felt a tug on his arm, and looked down to see Frisk smiling wide at him.  
"Ugh, what now?" He asked the human.  
"I want you to say hi to mom!" Frisk said cheerfully.  
"...No thanks." Flowey said, turning his back on them and starting to make his way down the mountain, as several other brave monsters had done during the time everyone enjoyed the sunset.

Frisk frowned, Toriel walking next to them and ruffling their messy hair. "Your friend seems troubled." She said to them.  
"You could say that again..." They answered with a weak laugh. Their expression grew determined. Well, if Asgore won't let them work on human-monster relations... They have something else to put their focus on.  
Their best friend, Flowey, needs their help.  
And they're willing to do anything to help him.

* * *

Flowey made his way down the mountain. Stupid mountain, why must it be so TALL? There's far too much way to go so he can reach the surface's ground and ACTUALLY get to someplace interesting.  
He needed to keep his mind busy, or else it'll wander back to the old times. How he used to be with Chara, mom and dad. Lived so happily. Everything was perfect back then... Everyone was happy.  
But then he had to go and ruin their plan. Pathetic, worthless. Couldn't do a single thing right. No wonder Chara kept laughing at him for crying so much, he was weak back then. He vowed to never be as weak as he was before.

"THERE'S ANOTHER ONE! SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT!" Came an unfamiliar voice behind some trees. Shoot it? Do they mean... Bullets?!  
Flowey braced himself for impact, but instead he had some... Device pointed at him? Several people... HUMANS, stood before him, one wearing headphones and holding a large device with a huge lens, another holding what seemed to be a very fuzzy gray and black stick, and a third one ran up to him with a microphone in her hand, she wore a red suit and glasses, her hair meticulously combed into a heart shape. She stood next to Flowey and looked straight at the device.

"Hello, and welcome back to our extraordinary cover of today's news! Here in Ebbot town, just a few hours ago, a loud impact sound was heard all over town! And now, many strange creatures emerged from the mountain, besides me stands one of them!"  
She looked at Flowey with the same smile. "Please, tell us your name!" Flowey was extremely scared. He would've preferred being shot in all honesty, but now? He needs to talk to humans?? Human ADULTS?? In front of a weird what appears to be camera????  
"Howdy..." He said weakly and gave a halfhearted smile, tears welling in his eyes. He was shaking all over.  
Other humans with cameras began coming closer to him, snapping pictures and filming. He felt surrounded, he WAS surrounded! He had no where to go! What if they get angry? What if they're mocking him?? What if they're gonna KILL him?!?!?!  
"I'm... Flowey..." He looked around him frantically, the flashes of light coming from many cameras and phones blinding him, the shaking grew stronger.  
"I-- I--" The human besides him gave no sign of concern.  
Flowey shot out a circle of bullets around him, hitting most of the people circling him. In his panic, he rushed forward, towards the town.  
The woman struggled to stand back up, cameraman swiveling over to show the back of the demigod growing smaller and smaller in the distance.  
"It seems like," the woman cringed from pain, she was shot with several bullets since she stood so close to him. "The 'Flowey' is going on a rampage! Everyone, please remain safe and stay clear from it!"

* * *

Frisk led the group of friends and family down the mountain with small happy skips. They were a little worried about Flowey, but they knew they'd catch up with him sooner or later.  
"hey, kid." Frisk looked over to Sans. "trouble ahead." Sans said with a wink.  
"Huh?" Was all Frisk managed to say before a group of cameramen swarmed the monsters and human. Behind them red and blue lights were periodically flashing, police. A lady in a red suit and frazzled heart-shaped hair ran towards them and made her way in front of the camera. She pointed a microphone at Frisk.  
"Hello! Are you one of the creatures? You seem like a perfectly normal human girl." Frisk despised when people assumed their orientation, but decided to leave that be for now. They stood on their tiptoes to look for Flowey, to no avail.  
"What is your name?" The woman asked. Frisk looked back and saw the family and friends he had made being interrogated by police. Something felt off.  
"I'm Frisk, I'm a human just like you. Um--" Was all they could say before the woman cut them off.  
"Frisk! What a lovely name!" She said mechanically. "Tell me Frisk, do you know the 'Flowey'?"  
"...Do you mean Flowey? Yeah, he's my friend." They answered cautiously.  
"What a scoop!" She turned to the cameras and straightened her back, flashing a huge pearly white smile. "Our studio back home is telling us that the 'Flowey' is running a rampage in downtown Ebbot! Everyone, please remain inside and let the police handle it!"  
Running a rampage...? But why? Was this what Flowey wanted all along? To break free so he could destroy more places? More people? Frisk shook their head, and pushed out the circle of cameras around them. They didn't want to believe it. They didn't want it to be true...

Did Flowey really betray them?

* * *

Flowey was cornered. He didn't like being cornered. He didn't like it at. all. He hissed loudly and made scary faces at the scary men in uniform holding guns that didn't work against his form.  
"GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He yelled at them, picking up a car and throwing it at the officers, which dove out of harm's way. "I'LL KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! I AM THE GOD OF THIS WORLD, LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!"  
" **Put your hands up over your head and remain silent!** " A loud person said using a megaphone.  
"SHUT UP!" Flowey said, tears obstructing his line of sight so he swiped in their general direction.  
" **Remain calm or we will shoot!** "  
Flowey was scared, he knew he could easily overpower all these humans, but he was panicking. He sobbed, falling to the ground with a loud thud, sending shock waves through the road from impact.  
"MOMMY! DADDY! SOMEONE, ANYONE HELP!"

* * *

Frisk walked up to one of the police officers there, they were a little nervous, even though they knew they did nothing wrong.  
They tugged on the officer's pant leg. "Excuse me, sir?"  
The officer turned his head to look at the child. Their hair frazzled, eyes squinting up at him, clothes dirty with mud and who-knows-what-else... He knelt in front of them, giving a kind smile. "Yes, young lady?"  
"This woman told me that my friend is in downtown Ebbot, and I can't walk all the way over there. I think he's in trouble. Can you please take me over to him so I can help him?"  
"F'raid not, ma'am. I've been situated here to watch over the other critters coming out of that hole in the mountain so none of them go on rampagin' like that other one. God bless whoever's dealing with him hands on, he looked tough as nails."  
"You mean Flowey?" They asked patiently. "He's the friend I talked about. Is he okay? What are they doing to him?"  
The officer scratched the back of his neck, sighing.   
"That friend of yours got himself into deep trouble, young lady. How can I put this gently... He's gonn' be arrested for property destruction and violence committed towards both citizens and authorities. If he gets outta this alive."  
Frisk's expression changed from concern to full-on fear. Their complexion grew pale.  
"They'll KILL him?!" They whispered. "Please, officer! I know how to stop him non-violently, you HAVE to take me there!"  
"Can't do, end of discussion young lady."

Frisk stomped their way back to Toriel, who was now sitting on a rock and watching the night sky over them with a bittersweet gaze. They flumped down on her lap and groaned in frustration.  
"What is wrong, my child?" She asked, gently petting their hair.  
Frisk turned their head so their cheek is resting on her lap, so their voice won't be muffled.  
"They won't take me to Flowey, even though I'm probably the only way they can stop him from going nuts and getting himself killed."

"Excuse me, did I hear you right? You said you know this person?" Came an unfamiliar voice.  
Frisk looked over to see a young, 20-something girl holding her phone out for them to see a blurry picture of Flowey looking furious and holding a man in his top vines.  
"This person has my dad and nobody is helping him get down from there, It's been almost an hour and none of the police force managed to calm them down. Which I mean, is okay, since guns won't calm anyone down I'd imagine."  
Frisk stood up, walking over to the woman. They gently took her phone in their hands, looking at the picture over.  
"Yeah, that's Flowey. He's my friend." They looked up at her, giving her the phone back. "He's not a bad person, I don't know what had gotten into him... But nobody would let me go there and calm him down!"  
"I just want my dad back, if you're sure you can calm him down I can take you over there. It's Sam by the way."  
"My name's Frisk!" They returned and high fived her hand when she went for shaking it.  
Sam gave a warm smile, and looked over at Toriel, who was standing up.  
"I will join you. I can not imagine sending my child into such a dangerous situation without being there to help."  
Frisk agreed, they needed the presence of someone he knew and trusted. It was a little scary going alone into this with a stranger and an enraged Flowey.  
"Car's this way, hop on in." Sam waved the two over to her old, beat up car. Toriel sat on the passenger's seat, while Frisk sat in the back between mountains and mountains of paperwork and junkfood wrappers.  
"Buckle up, this is gonna be a bumpy ride!" Sam announced, before starting up the car and driving over to downtown Ebbot.

* * *

Flowey roared loudly at the officers, whipping vines everywhere, shooting bullets from his snootle's eyes, and banging his paws down on the road.  
They were opening fire at him to no avail, nothing made even a dent in the demigod's form. His health, however, was going down steadily. Although he had so much of it, and the officers were too terrified to put much intent into their shots, that only about 4% of it was shaved off at this time.

"We're here" Sam said. It was a long, 30 minute ride. All around them was carnage; flipped cars, broken windows and walls, bullet holes everywhere... Frisk jumped out of the car only to be grabbed by Toriel.  
"First thank the nice lady." Frisk looked at Toriel impatiently.  
"Thank you, Sam. I promise I'll get your dad back." They said.  
She nodded, giving a thumb's up. "I believe in you, Frisk!"

Frisk walked carefully between cracks on the road and car pieces everywhere. They hopped over glass shards on the ground while holding Toriel's hand.  
And there he was, the raging flower in all his glory. He was currently busy threatening the officers surrounding him with death threats. He looked like a cat cornered by a dog, hairs all spikey and teeth all showing and claws all out.  
Frisk let go of Toriel's hand and began running towards the monster boy.

"Flowey!" They called. "Flowey, it's me! It's Frisk!"  
But Flowey couldn't hear them over his own threats and gunshots.  
Frisk tried going past the police, but there was no way. The barricades were too tall. They had to figure out another way through.

And then they saw it, the building behind Flowey had two entrances. One directly behind the flower, and one on the other side of the building. If they could enter from the other side, and exit behind Flowey, there's a better chance the demigod would notice them.  
They ran past the blockade and indeed there was an entrance! Which was blocked.  
"Danger!" was written on several signs. They looked back and saw Toriel slowly walking towards them with a questioning look.  
"Mom! I need to enter that house so I can reach Flowey!" They explained.  
"But it seems as though there is no entrance." She said, furrowing her brows.  
"I'll figure out a way." Frisk answered, walking to the entrance door and pulling on one of the wooden boards blocking the entrance.  
They groaned and struggled, then looked at Toriel. She sighed, rolling up her sleeves, and with a few hard pulls managed to take off one board. And another. And another.  
"That's good enough, thanks mom!" Frisk hugged her, then turned and ran into the lobby of the building.

Everything was so still and dark, other than the sound of what was going on outside, it felt as if he entered another world. The smell of dust and gunpowder ran through the air. It wasn't pleasant.

Frisk came out of the door, right behind Flowey. They walked towards the demigod and gently tugged on his arm, which got them slapped roughly into the wall.  
  


"YOU IDIOTS THINK YOU CAN ATTACK ME FROM ALL SIDES, HUH? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FAT CHANCE!"  
The child cackled, turning to look at his best friend.  
Frisk slowly stood up, rubbing the back of their head. They tasted blood, but they were more focused on Flowey.  
"...Frisk?! What are YOU doing here? How did you even GET here?" Flowey paused everything in order to look at Frisk with six questioning eyes.  
"It's okay, Flowey. I forgive you, you don't have to keep fighting. Let's go back home, together. Okay?" They said, offering the demigod a hand.  
"You-- you forgive me?" Flowey furrowed his brows. Frisk gave him a patient smile.  
"...Oh." Flowey finally said. "Oh, I get it. Because I made a mess, right? You don't hold it against me. Hee hee hee! You're too nice for your own good sometimes, Frisk."

BANG!

Flowey looked pissed. He sharply turned his head and held Frisk out.  
"CAN'T YOU SEE I'M HAVING A CONVERSATION HERE?! IDIOTS. SO INCONSIDERATE."

After a bit of silence...

"...Sorry."

"THANK you." Flowey replied. "GEEZE."

"Let's go home, Flowey. Let's undo this, and give another try."  
He sighed. "Okay."  
"You also have something stuck in your vines there, a girl's dad. Can you bring him back to her?" Frisk asked.  
"Sure, yeah, whatever. I don't need a dad anyway." Flowey snarked, looking at his vines. The man was huddled in a scared ball against a large red thorn.  
Flowey picked up the man, and put him on the ground gently, giving him a pat-pat.  
Frisk hugged Flowey's arm, smiling up at him.  
"Tell me what happened on the way back, okay? That way we could plan how to do this better next try." They said, before Flowey opened his [SAVE] [RELOAD] [RESET] menu, picking [RELOAD].  
"I'll tell you when we get there." Flowey answered, and pressed [RELOAD].

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Ebbot Town, Take Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair retry doing their introduction to the humans, this time without disastrous results, hopefully.

The world stopped existing.

The world blinked into existence once more.

Flowey stared out at the sunset, Frisk standing besides Asgore.

"What now?" asked Alphys.  
"I-- I mean, not that there's any pressure or anything but well, you see, we-- we did get our freedom and..." her voice trailed off.  
"Ugh, this again." Thought Flowey.  
"Well gosh, I don't know--" "Maybe we could introduce ourselves! I'm sure the people are waiting to meet us!" Frisk interrupted him, giving him a small smile.  
"Great idea, twerp!" Undyne chimed in. "You'll go first so they'd know we come with the power of friendship!"  
"Y--yeah! And Anime!" Alphys added.  
"Heck yeah!! And anime!!" Undyne cheered, pumping her fists in the air.  
Frisk nodded dutifully. "Heck yeah!"

"Now, now." Asgore interrupted their friendship-anime-induced celebration. "I'm sure there will be no need to put Frisk in such a situation. They are just a child, after all. Let's leave the hard work to us. I'm sure we are fully capable of handling it."  
Flowey turned to Asgore with a baffled expression. "You mean the child that went through the entire underground and befriended every single monster that attacked them? The child that, even though you left them no choice but to fight and give no mercy, still managed to get through to your heart?"  
He put a paw on Frisk's shoulder and smiled smugly. "I think they can handle it, pal. Don't worry."  
Asgore was visibly uncomfortable, fidgeting with his cape a little.  
"Very well." He said. "Frisk will be our ambassador and help bridge between monsterkind, and humankind."  
Frisk gave Flowey a thankful look, and hugged his paw. Flowey laughed awkwardly and pat-patted their head with his free hand.

And just on cue, a familiar voice was heard through behind them.  
"My child!" Toriel exclaimed. Flowey cringed at the sound of her voice, stopping himself before he'd answered her call.  
"Mom!" Frisk chirped, breaking the hug they were giving Flowey and running up to the former queen.  
"THERE'S TWO????" Papyrus looked bamboozled. Well, every monster in the vicinity looked on a scale between shocked to confused, since no one saw Toriel in XXXX years.  
"Oh, my child, you have no idea how worried I was about you... And look at that, look at how many friends you have made! I should not have been so scared for you." She said with a sad smile.  
Frisk looked up and gave a weak smile. Hearing it once again, the sadness was slightly more apparent.

"Tori!" Asgore stood up, starting to walk towards her.  
She put out a hand and looked at him with disgust.  
"Don't you dare call me that ever again." She said in a commanding tone.  
Asgore sank a little, and nodded.  
"Yup. Still not getting along." Flowey thought, sighing a little.

Frisk looked back at Flowey and beckoned him towards them, and Flowey played along.  
"Who is this?" Toriel asked with a sweet tone.  
"This is Flowey! We're best friends! He followed me through the entire underground." Frisk answered with a bright beam.  
Flowey gave a sweet smile of his own back at the boss monster.  
"Howdy! It's nice to finally meet you, Toriel!"  
"Oh! It's a pleasure. My, such manners!" She giggled, taking Flowey's cactus paw in her hand and giving a gentle shake. "Thank you for keeping my child safe."  
"Hey, it's no problem!" Flowey lied. "I worried for their travel the entire way!" He lied again, this time with more intent.  
"Let's go!" Frisk pulled on Toriel's dress, pointing in the direction of the path down the mountain.  
"Ha ha, alright my child." She looked at Flowey. "They can be impatient sometimes."  
"Yeah, I can tell." Flowey said with a smile, and started floating behind the skipping human.

"I will make sure everything is perfect." Frisk thought. "Flowey will be happy living here, EVERYONE will be happy living in harmony!" Frisk smiled to themself, before being stopped by Sans.  
"hey, kid." Frisk looked over to him. "trouble ahead." He said with a wink.

Before them was a crowd of monsters being filmed by many cameramen and reporters.  
Behind the scene, the blue and red lights of police cars flashed brightly. Flowey shivered and gave Frisk a concerned look.  
"Just stay close to me." Frisk said reassuringly. "I won't let anyone get hurt."  
"Okay, if you say so." Flowey answered in a small voice, taking Frisk's hand and holding it the rest of the way.

There was a certain warmth to holding Frisk's hand, Flowey wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He became their friend to see how far he can push them, after all.  
But something inside of him longed for a more... Delicate approach. He was terrified of what was going to happen, his heart racing, his entire body feeling as if it's vibrating.  
There they were, he could spot those humans that caused him to lose it from this far away. That lady with her sickening smile. It's not funny. Nothing about this is funny. This wasn't fun anymore.

But he has to be brave, can't show weakness. Not in front of Frisk. He knows danger, he practically swims in it.  
Though usually _he_ was the one who created it, which might be slightly different.

And then, they reached the ground. Frisk taking a step on what would be the new world everyone were gonna explore. Then Flowey floated behind. Then Toriel, and Sans, and Papyrus, Undyne rushing headfirst yelling "NEGAAAH", Alphys sweatily making her way, Asgore, everyone. They looked amazed, each one in their own special way. The monsters whispered amongst themselves, some shyly being filmed and asked questions by reporters.  
Flowey didn't notice all this the first time. He looked around at all the little details, fear replaced by curiosity for the time being.

Shyren was having a concert, singing her heart out. There was a small crowd of people around her clapping along.  
Madjick gave a show of magical phenomena, awing the humans with beautiful light shows and sparkly bubbles.  
Aaron was challenging humans for a flex-off, just for harmless fun. People cheered eagerly for each contestant.  
The temmies were... Well, as silly as usual. The humans adored it, taking pictures with them and petting their tummies.  
And Mettaton was giving the best show he could give, given how little time he had to prepare for this surprising scenario.

Flowey felt a tug on his paw, and looked over to Frisk, which was pointing to a camera.  
"They asked if they could film you for their news station. Are you okay with that?"  
Aaaaand here comes the fear again. Flowey didn't usually have stage fright, but when it comes to who-knows-how-many humans seeing him live on TV he wasn't sure he'd be the best first impression for monsterkind.  
"Only if you're gonna be here with me!" Flowey announced, squeezing Frisk's hand slightly. Frisk turned to the reporter lady, and she nodded in approval.

3...

2...

1...

And we're on!

"Welcome back to our cover of today's breaking news! Here in Ebbot town, just a few hours ago, a loud boom was heard all over town! And now, many strange monsters emerged from the mountain. Besides me stands one such creature, with his human companion!" The reporter said cheerfully. She gestured with her hand to Frisk and Flowey.  
"What are your names?"  
Frisk smiled for the camera. "My name's Frisk, and this is my best friend, Flowey!"  
"You're a human, correct?" She asked Frisk. They nodded.  
"How long have you known Flowey for you to become such close friends?"  
Flowey furrowed his brows. That's a tricky question, technically they knew each other for about two days, but it certainly felt much longer with all the time-hopping.  
"I'm not sure," Frisk admitted. "But it feels like we've known each other forever."  
"I see, I see. And you, Flowey! How do you feel about being a human's best friend?" The reporter asked, pointing a microphone at Flowey. He froze in place, cold sweat beading on his screen.  
"Uh... Um..." He looked around nervously, he wasn't surrounded this time. Only him, Frisk, and the film crew were in the general vicinity. He calmed down some.  
"I think it's great! I sure hope humans and monsters would learn to accept each other and find amazing friendships like we have! Golly, if it weren't for Frisk, I'd be still stuck all alone and lost!" ...Wait, did he really say that? The words just came out of his mouth without his control. Frisk gasped and hugged him with a slight squeeze. Flowey chuckled nervously. "If I'll be frank, Frisk is the last person I'd think I'd find friendship in, but here we are!"  


* * *

Some time passed, and the press started scattering. The monsters, which until now tried entertaining the curious humans, were left to be interrogated by police officers. Flowey and Frisk were given some candy for their participation in the news show, and were sitting in the side, leaning on a tree.

"Frisk..."  
"Yes, Flowey?"  
Flowey looked at Frisk with slight fear in his eyes.  
"Where do I go now? I don't have a family, I don't even have any real friends other than you. Nobody has a house besides what they've got in the mountain. What do we do?"  
Frisk looked at Flowey with an intense stare for a moment, before speaking.  
"Toriel and Asgore are _our_ family, I'm sure they wouldn't mind taking you in as well."  
"But--" Flowey remembered that Frisk had no idea who he really is. All Frisk knew about Asriel was the story the monsters told them. He shivered a little, this wasn't the right time to tell them this secret. "But are you sure they'll even like me?"  
Frisk laughed, and gave Flowey a smile.  
"Of course they'd like you, I'll make sure they do."

"My child, I have been looking for you!" Toriel suddenly appeared from behind a bush, making the two to jump slightly.  
"Oh, pardon me. Have I interrupted your conversation?"  
"It was basically over anyway." Flowey answered in an annoyed tone. "But sure, you can come sit with us if you want."  
"Mom?" Frisk piped up with the best puppydog eyes they could muster.  
"Oh dear, what is it?" Toriel put a hand to her cheek, smiling at the child. They're irresistible.  
"Flowey has no where to go and no family to take care of him, can he pleeeeease come with us?"  
From an adoring look, Toriel's expression turned into shock and worry. She looked at Flowey, who was currently busy looking to the side and being huffy.  
"No family..? How long has he been living on his own, without a warm bed to go into?" She asked herself.  
"Of course he could, my child. Anyone who is that important to you is just as important to me."  
"YESSSSS!" Frisk jumped and hugged the boss monster. "THANK YOU, MOM!"  
"Hee hee hee, yeah... Thanks, Toriel." Flowey said dryly.

* * *

Asgore and Frisk went back and forth through ambassador jobs, speaking publicly about equality between species.  
Slowly but surely more houses were open to be sold to both humans and monsters, and more and more monsters moved to Ebbot city permanently.  
The schools opened their doors to monster students, the workforce as well, monster magic being extremely useful in several jobs.  
Everything went as planned, and everyone were happy.

It was night time, Flowey reverted to his flower self (but still kept the souls because they're HIS now!!!) to sneak out of his room (the garage) and into Frisk's room inside the house. He quietly opened the door, silently making his way to Frisk's bed. He had another nightmare, and needed some comfort.  
Flowey climbed into bed with Frisk, laying against the human and just listening to their heartbeat. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, and slowly fell asleep again.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna end this here since this chapter is long as-is, and it's starting to move towards what I want the next chapter to be like. Enjoy a little bit of fluff at the end!


	6. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey wakes up from a nightmare, Frisk and Toriel offer their help.

"Mommy?"  
There was silence surrounding the goat child.  
"Daddy?"  
He felt something heavy in his arms. There was darkness shrouding him.  
"...Chara?"  
His feet stumbled on the cold ground, he felt heavy and light at the same time. His head was dizzy, and he could hear his own heartbeat.  
Asriel looked down in his hands, the body of his sibling laying there motionless.  
"Oh, right. The souls... The-- the souls..."  
He staggered, nearly dropping the cold body of the human. Scrambling, he held it tight, looking up.  
There were lights coming near to him, the faint sound of distant yells carrying in the air. It sent a chill down his spine. Focus, Asriel. Focus. The souls.  
Asriel began running towards the light source, determination sparkling in his eyes. Or was it fear? Must be a mix of the two.  
The lights grew nearer and nearer, burning brightly and proudly. Fire. Torches. Knives. Bats. Guns. Glinting eyes full of anger and fear. Dust in the air.  
He couldn't bring himself to fight back.  
Dust on the ground.  
He couldn't do anything to stop the pain.  
Dust in his mouth.  
"Chara..." The body rolled from his hands, the world around him fading. "Chara, don't leave me..!"

"Don't leave me! Don't leave, please!" Pleaded the flower, squeezing the human tight in his thorny vines, which were threatening to break the surface of Frisk's skin.  
"Ow, Flowey you're hurting me!" Frisk said, struggling under Flowey's hold. "Wake up!"  
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, I don't want to die! I don't--"

Flowey woke up with a start, eyes wide open and filled with tears, he looked down at Frisk's worried and pained face.  
"..."  
Flowey loosened his hold, thorns sliding back into their hiding place.  
"Stop looking at me like that. It was just a stupid dream." Flowey spat.  
"Flowey..." Frisk said in a soft, gentle tone.  
"Shut UP!" He rose, looming over Frisk. "I don't want your dumb PITY!" His face shifted into a terrifying sight, empty sockets with glowing dots for pupils. Sharp, crooked teeth. His expression was of pure fury.  
Frisk flinched, letting out a small shivery breath.  
Flowey paused, face shifting back to its normal shape. He let go of Frisk, sitting firmly on their stomach and staring at them with tired eyes.  
"Just a stupid dream. It wasn't real. Okay?"  
Frisk wasn't sure if he was trying to convince them, or himself.  
"So... Don't worry about me so much. Idiot. I don't understand why do you even care."  
Frisk pulled Flowey into a hug, making him wince a little. They held him in their arms, petting his bloom gently.

After a long while, Frisk broke the silence.  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
Flowey froze in place, then slowly looked up at the human with suspicion in his eyes.  
"And what will YOU get out of it?" He snapped back.  
"Helping my best friend." They answered simply.  
"What if your best friend doesn't WANT to be helped?" Flowey sassed. "What if he CAN'T be helped, and no matter what you'd do he'll always stay evil and bad?"  
There was something heartbreaking in the way Flowey said his last sentence. As if he truly believed he can't ever be helped. Frisk, however, disagreed.  
"You aren't evil." They replied, shuffling their legs under the blanket until they sat up, then pulling the blanket on top of the both of them. "You just made a lot of mistakes, but you can be redeemed. I know it."  
Flowey leaned his cheek on Frisk's chest, sighing. "Not every mistake can be undone, Frisk." He said in a defeated tone. "Some mistakes, no matter how hard you'll try, are just gonna haunt you for the rest of your life. And there's nothing you can do about it."  
"Like what?" Frisk asked.  
Flowey huffed. "I'm NOT telling you." He sat up, looking slightly annoyed with Frisk, then hopped off of their lap and onto the carpeted floor. "I smell pie, Toriel must be awake."  
"Mm." Frisk replied. They were still a little groggy from the abrupt awakening, and didn't really want to leave the bed yet. "You can head down, I'll be there in a second."

* * *

Toriel hummed to herself, covering the pie to keep it warm. She looked out of the window, it was a nice warm day outside.  
She still had to get used to the fact that weather changed on a daily basis. On her new smartphone, one of the most used apps was Weather.  
She smiled to herself, hearing the pitter patter of small roots toddling down the stairs. Toriel wiped her hands on her pink apron and walked out of the kitchen to greet the young roommate.

"Good morning to you too, Flowey." The boss monster said warmly, causing Flowey to jump in place a little.  
"Oh um, good morning Toriel!" He replied, turning to her and beaming. "Golly, something smells wonderful!"  
Toriel laughed softly, and nodded. "I have made blueberry pie. It is a new recipe I am trying. I hope it turned out well."  
"I'm sure it did!" He skittered towards her, eyeing the pie in the kitchen behind her. "Is that breakfast?"  
"Yes, it indeed is!"  
Flowey gasped, then made a small delighted noise.  
"Now, now. We shall wait for Frisk to come down, assuming they're awake."  
He frowned at that.  
"But I'm huuuungryyyyy!" Flowey whined. "It smells so good! I don't wanna wait..!"  
Toriel chuckled, and leaned down to pick up the flower before an outright tantrum would break out. She held him to herself, walking to the living room, and sat down on the couch.

"Seeing you as a flower is not a common sight, Flowey. What brought you inside?"  
He melted into her touch, looking aside with sadness in his eyes.  
"Just a bad dream, is all." He finally answered.  
"What was it about?"  
Flowey sighed, looking up at her.  
"A mistake that I've made. A huge, massive one at that. But you're changing the subject, why can't I eat now?"  
She took his cheek in her hand, and looked at him with motherly love.  
"Because we are a family, and as such, we are considerate to others."  
Toriel gave him a small kiss on the forehead. He closed his eyes and took a breath.

He wished it'd feel like home.  
He wished it'd feel like warmth is filling him inside.  
He wished it'd feel like love is bursting from within him.  
He wished he cared.  
He didn't.  
It felt like nothing.

Tears of frustration welled in his eyes, and when he opened them he gave Toriel a big fat scowl.  
"I don't need anyone's 'consideration'" He said, spitting the word 'consideration' venomously. "I don't need anyone's care and love and pity. It's worthless to me."  
A look of concern appeared on Toriel's face. She looked as if she was trying to make sense of Flowey's words.  
"You know why, Toriel? You know why I'm such a bad kid? It's because I'm SOULLESS. I am EMPTY inside. And it's all my fault."  
The tears began forming larger and larger, one sliding down his pale cheek.  
"I thought that maybe things would be different now that I'm on the surface. Maybe things would be better now that I have the six human souls. But no. It only hurts worse! Everyone is happy around me, carefree and good hearted! But I'm stuck with my dumb past and living a life of pure HELL!"  
A small sob escaped him, Toriel pulled him into a tighter hug, trying to comfort him with gentle pets to the back of his bloom.  
"Do not worry, my child. I am sure there is help for you."  
Flowey snapped.  
"NO!"  
This was just like the first timeline.  
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"  
She's still as dumb as she was before.  
"I'M NOT FIXABLE, THERE'S NO SOLUTION!"  
She still pities me, she still thinks that some moronic love and care would fix me.  
"Trust me, I tried..."  
He sobbed, wiping his tears on her shoulder.  
"I... I'm a hopeless case, Toriel. It's not worth it."  
Flowey shivered in her non-comforting hold. He went silent for a while, staring forward blankly.

"That's not true." Came a voice from the staircase. "No one is a lost cause, and you're definitely worth it."  
Flowey and Toriel turned to look at Frisk, standing on the last step, in their pyjamas, barefoot, a blanket around them like a cloak.  
They walked towards the two.  
"All you need is someone you can trust."  
Toriel smiled a little. Children and their innocence.  
"I think he may need more help than that, my child." She looked back at Flowey, who was staring blankly at Frisk. "Flowey, what do you think about going to therapy?"

 


	7. Therapy Session

Flowey sat uncomfortably on a couch outside the therapist's office. He fidgeted with his leaves, giving nervous glances to Toriel.  
It took her months to convince him to go to a therapist, and a few more good weeks until she found him one that worked with children and had high praise.  
At first he refused profusely.

"Therapy? Me? Hah, you must be joking! No one can fix me, not even the best therapist in the world!"

He knew only one person in the world would be able to understand what he went through, and even then, as much as he trusted them, he didn't want them to think less of him for what he had done.

But as time went on, his behavioral issues got more apparent. As much as he tried to hide his identity and act like a perfect angel, he had his outbursts from time to time. Anger issues, numb periods, emotional detachment, a feeling of a void inside of him...  
He agreed to try. He was a curious kid, and wanted to see what this 'therapist' could do to help him.

"Flowey?" Came a warm voice from the now open door. In it stood a woman, not too tall, not too short. Her black hair neatly combed into a ponytail. She smiled towards the child, it unnerved him yet he didn't know why. "Come on in."  
The flower gave an unsure look towards Toriel, which answered with a small nod. He sighed, hopping off the couch and skittering towards the woman, she held the door open for him. He entered, and looked around.

It was a comfortable looking room. There were toys neatly stacked around, a small table with a short chair with art supplies strewn on it, two plush sofas, and many childish drawings hanged on the walls. The warm color of the wallpaper and carpet gave the place an almost homely feel.  
Flowey walked towards the sofa and hopped on it, sitting and making himself comfortable. He then looked up, staring at the lady.

"Hello Flowey, I'm glad to see you here. My name is Annette, and I'm a children's therapy specialist. Do you know what therapy is, Flowey?" She leaned forward, giving him a kind smile.  
"Um..." Why couldn't he talk? It was as if all the words ran away from his brain. "Therapy is... Uh..."  
"It's okay to be nervous, this is the first time you came to a therapy session, isn't it?" She replied. Flowey nodded shyly.  
"Therapy is a way for you to soothe and heal your soul. You come to therapy when you feel sad or helpless, and the therapist, or in this case, me, will help you gain control over your emotions and teach you ways to handle scary things that may happen to you."  
Flowey looked to the side, sinking slightly into the sofa. "But..." He swallowed, glancing back at Annette. "But what if someone doesn't have a soul? What then?"  
The therapist watched him closely, then spoke slowly and clearly.  
"In this case, we will heal the mind instead."  
Flowey blinked, a little surprised by the answer. It made sense, a soul is made of love and emotion after all. The mind is more logical and rational. You don't have to fix the soul if you can fix the mind.  
"Tell me, Flowey. What brings you here?" She cut the flower's thoughts.  
"Um... The thing is... I'm not sure." He answered, lying slightly. "Maybe it's because I yell and hit things or people when I get angry. Or that I have a lot of nightmares and can't sleep because of them." Flowey took a breath. "Maybe it's because I can't feel love no matter how hard I try. It's all because I'm soulless though."

"And what makes you believe you're soulless?"

Flowey paused, chewing on his lip.  
"Don't tell anyone what I'm gonna tell you." He gave her a stern look. She nodded, and mimed zipping her mouth shut.  
"I'm not supposed to be alive."

Toriel sat, scrolling through her feed on her smartphone. She looked up at the closed door from time to time, wondering what is happening inside.

"...Let me start from the beginning." He fidgeted with his leaves, kicking his vines around. "There was once a prince, and he was a wuss. Everyone thinks he died tragically in a heroic act, but instead the prince was a traitorous idiot that couldn't follow a simple plan!" His voice broke a little, and Flowey blinked back tears, clearing his throat.  
"Anyway, the idiot prince's sibling came up with a wonderful idea, and even sacrificed themself for the good of all monsterkind. But when the time came and the moron prince needed to do his part of the plan and collect more souls, he refused to fight and ruined EVERYTHING. It would've been funny, if it wasn't so idiotic." The flower crossed his leaves and shook his head. "The dumb prince walked back to his home, fatally injured and carrying his sibling's dead body in his arms. He then died right there in the middle of the garden, spreading his stupid dust everywhere."

Flowey looked up, searching for anything in Annette's eyes. Any reaction at all, but she simply watched him patiently.  
"Go on, finish your story." She said warmly. He sighed.

"One day, long after the prince died, a scientist took flowers from the garden. The scientist injected determination into those flowers, and after a while, I was made." Annette's expression was unreadable.  
"At first I believed I was him, since I had his memories. So I ran to his mommy and daddy, but discovered they'd separated because of HIM." His petals twitched in annoyance. "I tried to be good, Annette. I swear. I went to them for warmth and comfort, but felt NOTHING. No love, no care, nothing. 'My child! You are alive!'" He mimicked Toriel's voice. "Asriel, it really IS you!" He mimicked Asgore's voice, then groaned. "Nothing, nothing NOTHING! I couldn't handle it, Annette. I couldn't live in a world without love, I couldn't live in a world without my sibling... The shame, the guilt, I deserve this Annette. I..." He sobbed. Annette put a hand on his leaf, smiling gently.  
"You don't have to tell me what happened next. All of this sounds extremely hard to bear."  
"But... You need to know, if you don't then who would? Not even Frisk knows these things!" Flowey sniffled, rubbing his eyes. "I killed myself, Annette."

There was silence in the room.

"I killed myself, because I couldn't bear living like this. But." He straightened his stem, fluffing up his petals. "I didn't die. In fact, I found myself back where I started. Out there in the garden, alone. When I saw Asgore, it was as if nothing had happened."  
Flowey looked to the side.  
"At first I thought, 'Neat! I can befriend everyone, I can figure out how to help!' but as time went on... Nothing made me happy. Nothing made me feel anything but boredom."  
He chuckled.  
"I started hurting people."  
When he turned his head, his face changed. Sharp fangs and empty sockets staring at the therapist.  
"I killed them. I tortured them. I made their lives hell. The underground was my playground, and I was their god. They were all under my mercy, and I showed none."  
His face shifted into a menacing grin.  
"Killing... Is the only thing that makes me feel happy."  
Flowey leaned towards Annette, eyes squinting with amusement at the woman.  
"I could kill you right now, you know. It would be easy. I could torture you in a million different ways. Make you scream for help, but... Nobody would come."  
Her face grew pale, smile dropping into a scared frown. She withdrew her hand.  
"But I won't." Flowey leaned back, face becoming his usual one. "Or else the souls I stole would riot or something."

* * *

45 minutes passed, and the door finally opened. Flowey trotted out of it, his demeanor much more relaxed. The therapist, however, looked incredibly worried.  
Toriel leaned down and picked up the child, shuffling through her handbag with her free hand.  
"Here, thank you so much." She handed Annette her payment.  
Annette nodded, taking the money and quickly writing her a receipt.  
"I think Flowey might need intensive therapy. Twice a week would be appropriate." She said, then handed the receipt to Toriel.  
"Ah, I see." Toriel nodded. "Thank you, once again."  
"It's absolutely no problem, Toriel. Your child is one smart boy!"  
Flowey grinned at her in response.

And with that, they headed out and into Toriel's car.  
"I am proud of you, Flowey. Would you like to have some ice cream before we return home?"  
"Uh, heck yeah??" He exclaimed, his seatbelt clicking in place.  
"Wonderful, let us go then." 

 

 


End file.
